Prime cattle actually outnumbered store last week by 24 head, while both sheep sales offered up decent yardings.
A quality cattle yarding was easily absorbed by the solid bench of buyers that were tucked away in the rostrum last Monday, out of the downpours that did not abate throughout the day.
Angus steers, 503kg, were in overnight and sold very well, maintaining levels of $2.99/kg, with other lines 647-680kg also solid at $2.96-$3.00/kg. Heifers of the same breeding and 453-585kg lifted to $2.81-$2.88/kg, while all other beef-bred lines traded at $2.74-$2.80/kg. Four Angus cows, 586kg, managed $2.20/kg, making a premium over their 488kg Angus and Angus-Hereford counterparts who returned $1.86/kg.
In the sheep section lamb throughput was down on last sale and the market strengthened. Top ram lambs lifted to $213, with male lines of similar condition steady at $206-$207. Very heavy cryptorchid made solid returns at $186.50-$206. The remainder of male and ram lines lifted with the majority earning $183-$200, and nothing was available below $170. Mixed sex lines did not have the very heavy types found the week prior, but this did not diminish returns as the majority were good types and steady at $155-$170. Ewe lambs were strong with most strengthening, as top types lifted to $165-$182 and good to heavy lines made $140-$161.
The ewe market was steady with good support from the rails. Medium to heavy two-tooth ewes traded at $119-$139.50, while the lighter end lifted to $95. Mixed age ewes were solid with heavy to very heavy types earning $145-$164.50, and good to very good lines made $135-$143. Medium and medium-good returned $113.50-$130, whilst the lighter end managed $91-$112.
Just when it looked like we might start to run out of store lambs a boat from the Chatham Islands bumped up the tally by nearly 1,200 head last Wednesday. These were also joined by later born lines from Central and Southern Hawke’s Bay and again buyers were spoilt with a quality line up. .
The mixed sex lines from the Chatham Island (which equated to all but one line) consisted of wether and ewe lambs. All lambs sold freely, and the mixed sex made very similar levels to the males at $134-$154 for top cuts, and $125-$133 for medium to good. Male lamb prices were very consistent, meaning that for a $136-$152 range good to very heavy lambs were covered. Very few fell outside that range with no light lambs in these pens. Heavy ewe lambs made $135-$137, with one line selling to $154, while medium to good lambs were steady to firm at $120-$129.
The in-lamb breeding ewe season continued in a similar vein, and the first pen up came from Dannevirke and returned there for $180. These were 5-year Romney ewes, 164%, which basically topped the sale, only beaten by a small line of mixed age, scanned triplets, which sold for $195.50. Dry ewes ranged from $76 up to $180 depending on quality, and a line of five crossbred ewes with young but healthy lambs-at-foot made $95 all counted.
Store cattle numbers dropped dramatically to just 70 head with the sale completed in just over half an hour.
As is typical for such a small yarding the buying bench was limited to locals, though a Wairoa buyer did take a few of the R2 steers, including a line of five 438kg Hereford-Friesian, which hit $3.01/kg. Top per head price was $1425 for 12 494kg Hereford-Friesian, while medium-good beef-cross steers, 389-413kg, made $2.91-$2.93/kg.
Hereford-cross featured in the R2 heifer pens and the better lines, 440-458kg, made solid returns at $2.78-$2.83/kg, while a medium line of Hereford-Friesian, 401kg, earned $2.67/kg.
Younger cattle numbers were very limited, with the feature line being nine Angus & Angus-Hereford heifers, 182kg, which sold for $635.
